Air cargo volumes at Ontario International Airport (ONT) — one of the busiest cargo airports in North America — continue to exceed levels seen in 2019 before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic which dragged most of the aviation industry.
In a statement, the Canadian airport reported double-digit growth in air cargo volumes in November reaching more than 74,000 tons in November, 10.3% greater than the same month in 2019.
This is also higher than the 68,500 tons reported in October, which was up 1% compared with October 2019.
From January through November, ONT said shipments of freight and mail totalled more than 761,000 tons, almost 10% higher than the first 11 months of 2019.
"Ontario experienced a double-digit increase in cargo in November compared with November 2019 and almost 10% on a year-to-date basis, further demonstrating its success as a cargo hub and importance to the Southern California economy," said Atif Elkadi, chief executive officer of the Ontario International Airport Authority.
Compared to November 2021, however, this year's cargo numbers are slightly lesser.
The ONT report showed that air cargo volumes in November 2022, were 1.55% lower than the 75,855 tons during the same period last year.
"November continued our run of strong growth on both passenger volume and cargo movement," Elkadi said.
"While many airports continue to work toward restoring commercial air service to pre-pandemic levels, Ontario is showing month after month what full recovery looks like. The airport's performance has been remarkable, to say the least," he added.
